Acid volatile sulfide predicts the acute toxicity of cadmium and nickel in sediments

Technical Report · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:5958004

Di Toro, D M; Mahony, J D; Hansen, D J; Scott, K J; Carlson, A R

Laboratory toxicity tests using amphipods, oligochaetes, and snails with spiked freshwater and marine sediments and with contaminated sediments collected from an EPA Superfund site demonstrate that no significant mortality occurs relative to controls if the molar concentration of acid volatile sulfide (AVS) in the sediment is greater than the molar concentration of simultaneously extracted cadmium and/or nickel. Although it is well-known that these metals can form insoluble sulfides, it apparently has not been realized that AVS is a reactive pool of solid-phase sulfide that is available to bind metals and render that portion unavailable and nontoxic to biota. Thus, the AVS concentration of a sediment establishes the boundary below which these metals cease to exhibit an acute toxicity in freshwater and marine sediments.

• Research Organization: Manhattan Coll., New York, NY (United States)
• OSTI ID: 5958004
• Report Number(s): PB-93-222107/XAB; CNN: EPA-R-816326
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
560300 -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
BIOLOGICAL AVAILABILITY
CADMIUM
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CONTAMINATION
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ECOSYSTEMS
ELEMENTS
FRESH WATER
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INVERTEBRATES
LAWS
METALS
MOLLUSCS
MORTALITY
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NICKEL
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
POLLUTION LAWS
SEDIMENTS
SNAILS
SULFIDES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
TOXICITY
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
US EPA
US ORGANIZATIONS
US SUPERFUND
WATER
WATER POLLUTION